7 of the Best Los Angeles Restaurants for Cheese Plates and More
L.A. has some terrific cheese shops, including Andrew’s Cheese Shop in Santa Monica and The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, but some people prefer to enjoy their cheese on-site with curated condiments and accoutrements. Stay tuned for the reopening of thoughtful programs like FIG’s cheese bar and Providence’s cheese cart.
Esters Wine Shop & Bar
Esters Cheese Board photo credit Elise Freimuth RC Family
This indoor-outdoor wine bar and market from accomplished sommelier Kathryn Coker, husband Tug and the Rustic Canyon Family resides at the base of a 1937 Art Deco building. Executive Chef Jessica Liu He balances 40% cow, 30% goat, and 30% sheep’s milk cheeses. “I am a big, big, big fan of funky cheese and blues, but I know that it isn't a party pleaser,” she says. Most guests order “chef’s choice,” which gives her permission to “break boundaries.” Chef He changes the wine-friendly cheese selection monthly, constantly reviews cheese vendor inventory sheets and watches YouTube videos for new finds. “Knowing the back story of how something is made makes me connect more with the cheeses,” she says. 10 cheeses are available a la carte, as part or three-cheese plates or the “cheese-baller” (“all of the cheeses”). Current selections include North Hollander, a cow’s milk cheese from Holland; Leonora, a Spanish goat’s milk cheese; and Roquefort, a French sheep’s milk cheese. Cheese boards come with house-made, seasonal fruit chutney, orange blossom honey, nuts, dried or fresh fruits, and crostini. Curated cheese platters are also available for takeout and delivery.
Forma Pasta Dalla Forma
Chef Piero Topputo and front of house business partner Mario Sabatini built on their Santa Monica success by opening a Venice outpost in October. They’re best known for serving pasta dalla forma, tossing spaghetti, fettuccine, and tortellini in massive cheese wheels before serving. Their cheese-pertise extends to a dozens-deep cheese menu that Topputo assembles from around the world and divides into categories like Bloomy Rind, Blue Veined and Semi-Hard. Customers pick and choose to assemble custom cheese platters. For instance, Central Coast Creamery’s washed-rind goat’s milk Dream Weaver could easily pair with La Mancha semi-soft Manchego and Ivy’s Vintage Cheddar from England’s Wyke Farms, a hard cow’s milk cheese. Cheeses come plated with toasted nut baguette, dried fruit, nuts, jam, and honey. Forma Santa Monica and Forma Venice have some variation with their cheese, which is also available for takeout and delivery.
This one-stop shop for deliciousness features packaged cheeses like a charcoal dusted Valençay goat’s cheese pyramid from France’s Loire Valley, three types of Plymouth Cheddar from Vermont, and Cowgirl Creamery Mt Tam triple cream made in Petaluma. Gjusta sells a cheese plate with a chef’s choice of three soft, medium and hard cheeses that come with honeycomb, dates, rosemary almonds, and a small side of house-baked bread. People can enjoy Gjusta’s satisfying cheese plates and menu items on the back patio, as takeout or delivery.
Kustaa Prosciutto Melt
This western Culver City cheese shop, wine bar, and gourmet market also has plenty of cheese-centric prepared food and encourages people to linger. Tina Bonfils grew up in Malmö, Sweden, which is where she learned about kustaa, a Nordic term for “staff of the gods.” Her husband is Basque-French from Biarritz. Together, the couple takes a global view, rotating their cheese selection constantly. As they say on their website, “Two cheese boards will never need to be the same. Let our Cheesemongers guide you to a selection that savors your taste palate.” At any given time, they sell approximately 100 cheeses, selections like Rogue River blue cheese, Cypress Grove’s fudgy Fog Lights goat cheese, and Jasper Hill Farm bloomy rind Harbison cow’s milk cheese. Custom 3- or 5-cheese cheese and meat boards come with baguette, dried fruit, cornichons, olives, and jams. Cheese also factors into house-made macaroni and cheese (with or without merguez), artichoke & goat cheese dip, cucumber burrata salad, and caprese sandwiches. Cheeses are available to go. Customers who prefer to enjoy their cheese (and more) on-site can sit up front at blue tables or on a big back patio with black fence and bright blue umbrellas.
beaucoup fromage au monsieur marcel" by Stacy Spensley is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Stephane Strouk and wife Katy have made Monsieur Marcel an institution at The Original Farmers Market, where the couple runs a gourmet market and bistro that’s strong on cheese. Patrick Kelly is Monsieur Marcel’s head Cheesemonger, overseeing the market’s selection and working with the chef on cheese plates. Kelly stocks approximately 100 international cheeses, striving to offer items that would be hard to find elsewhere in a range of styles and textures. Monsieur Marcel staffers assemble every cheese board to order, drawing from categories like Cheddary, Nutty, and Soft Bloomy Rind. Diners can choose one, three or five cheeses, which come with house-made chutney, candied walnuts, stone-ground mustard, cornichons, and fresh market strawberries. Monsieur Marcel also offers wine & cheese flights and signature cheese and charcuterie boards that focus on France, Italy, Spain or chef’s choice. La Fondue Savoyarde is a fun, interactive option that allows diners to dip speared apples, fingerling potatoes, bresaola and bread in a molten pot of Emmental, Swiss Gruyère, Comté and Morbier cheeses. Cheese plates are available to go, and they also provide bigger trays with notice.
Vino Wine & Tapas Room Manchego photo credit Georgina Fasi
Alla Volk owns this Encino wine bar, which also features Spanish small plates and cheese. Volk curates a focused cheese selection that includes Sottocenere al tartufo (an Italian raw cow’s milk with truffle aged under ash), Brillat Savarin (“a very decadent triple crème Brie”), and Challerhocker (a pasteurized cow’s milk cheese from Switzerland). Diners can sample as many cheeses as they like in 1.5-ounce servings. Cheese plates come with nuts, honey, fresh fruit, and baguette. Volk is also proud of her marinated Manchego, a firm ewe’s milk cheese soaked in Spanish olive oil, white wine vinegar, black peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. Cheese plates are also available for delivery.
Wally's Santa Monica Exterior
Steve Wallace and his trusted staff turned the original Wally’s on Westwood Boulevard into a true destination for bottled wines and spirits. That beloved compound closed in 2018, but Wallace’s longtime lieutenant Christian Navarro and his partners, Paul and Maurice Marciano, continue to offer wine, spirits, and gourmet specialties in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica. Wally’s “Cheese Box” carries over 200 varieties “from treasured caves in Croatia to Australia to burgeoning American farmsteads,” plus seasonal specials. 3- or 5-item cheese & charcuterie (or simply cheese) plates draw from an abbreviated 16-cheese list (matching in both locations) that includes OG Kristal “cheese candy,” a Belgian cow’s milk cheese; rich Hook’s 10-year Cheddar from Wisconsin; and Roquefort, a pungent raw sheep’s cheese from France. Beverly Hills cheese plates come with pecans, dried fruits like peaches and cranberries, crackers, sliced baguette, and sometimes honey or pate, depending on availability. In Santa Monica, accouterments might include sliced sourdough, cornichons, capers, honey, whole-grain mustard, walnuts, Marcona almonds, and dried fruit. Wally’s cheese plates are available for outdoor dining, carryout and delivery.